The measurement of the flow of air and water has been of interest to man since antiquity: Ancient navigators needed knowledge about the direction and velocity of airflow, and the early communities that inhabited near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers around 5,000 B.C. required the abilities to measure water flow for the fair division of water that flowed through aqueducts in these regions. Through the ages, the technique has become more refined but still remains as important as ever.

A flow meter is a device utilized for measuring the flow rate, i.e. the quantity of a liquid or gas passing through a pipe in a given amount of time. Today, flow meters have utility in several application areas such as energy management, food processing, water management, oil and gas, etc. Of all these application segments, petrochemicals and refining is one of the key sectors for the flow meters market. Gas flaring, interwell allocation, environment regulation, and quality control are the areas where flow meters are used in this sector. Obsolete flow meters are also being replaced with new smart ones for improved reliability and accuracy in measurement.

The global flow meters market will rise at a CAGR of 9.50% in the 2015-2021 period, says Transparency Market Research. Some of the key observations about the development of this market are presented as follows:

Of all the product types, magnetic flow meters held 21% of the global market in 2014.

In 2014, food processing was the largest application segment of the flow meters market, accounting for 17.6% of the global market.

Asia Pacific was the largest regional market for flow meters in 2014. This regional market will rise at a CAGR of 9.30% in the 2015-2021 period.

Located at the remote site of the Williston Basin in North Dakota, the Legacy Reserves oilfield recently had to face the challenge of upgrading waste gas reporting capabilities without utility power service. To overcome this, solar powered flow meters were installed at each of the 14 wells in order to support the 3-phases of crude oil separation. At the end of the process, waste gas unsuitable for commercial use is transmitted to a tank equipped with a flare unit. The remnant gas is burned off as per requisites.

With systematic study and meticulous planning, optimal flow measurement was formulated to adhere to the newly laid state and federal regulations for gas emissions. Each of the 14 well heads was equipped with two gas/air flow meters to carry out the oil separation process. Low volume of wells, limitations of using disparate pressure technologies, and convincing authorities of the cost-effectiveness of installing flow meters in place of several new gas lines were the restraints that the team at Legacy Reserves had to face for the purpose.